Jett and Hunter Lawrence gobbled up the last three 250 Class AMA Pro Motocross Championships, plus Justin Cooper ate up plenty of podiums in his 250 days. All three of those guys are now 450 racers, which leaves a 250-class devoid of anyone who has won the title before (unfortunately, two-time 250 National Champion Jeremy Martin recently announced he’s not racing at the moment).
This is the great unknown, and that’s great! Hard to predict who will win. Here’s some ideas on the big questions coming into the new season.
RJ Hampshire
RJ’s gonna RJ, which means you’re going to get all-out effort on and off the track every week. He’s won races in the class before, but sometimes that’s too much effort and he ends up dealing with some sort of physical ailment, be it an injury or illness, from pushing to his limit. In supercross, recently, he’s fixed a lot of that, as not only was he obviously consistent enough to net the 250 West Region Supercross Championship, but he was also solid in nearly every stadium race last year. Outdoors, though? He won the opening moto of 2023 and then was all over the map with things that could only happen to RJ after that.
So, this is the usual question: Can he iron out the kinks? If so, he’s got the goods.
Tom Vialle
Vialle is kinda like the anti-RJ, with a completely different demeanor and approach. RJ is fire and Vialle is ice. Vialle’s 250 Supercross East Region Championship has everyone thinking big things for Pro Motocross, where the two-time MX2 FIM Motocross World Champion will be even better. Tom needed to learn the tracks last year. Check. The KTM 250 program needed to get better. Check. This dude, over a 22-race series where consistency really matters, could be tough to top.
Haiden Deegan
It sure seems like Deegan finished second in points last year, because he held the red plates at one point and seemed prime for a late-season challenge on Hunter Lawrence after a scintillating 1-1 at Washougal. Then some bad racing luck got in the way: bike broke at Unadilla, red flag restart while he was leading Budds Creek, sick (and not in the cool, Deegan way) at Ironman. He actually ended up fourth in points but came back to win the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX). So, is the Washougal-fast Deegan the real Deegan? Is he going to go to another level in year two? That might be the biggest question in this series.
Levi Kitchen
Levi’s successful (if devoid of a title) supercross season and the recent renaissance for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki makes him a contender here, but so much depends on if he can fix up parts of his game. The last two years, Levi has proved if he can holeshot he can dominate. But can he A) get those good starts more often and B) move forward and salvage points when he doesn’t? Sometimes it’s not about winning from the back but turning an eighth on lap one into a podium finish. Levi took some huge steps in supercross. Will he do that here?
Jo Shimoda
Shimoda is garnering a rep as someone who starts a season slow and then comes on strong when the points are out of reach. He was darned good in SMX, but Monster Energy AMA Supercross brought back the same story. Jo has the ability and he’s riding on the bike that won the last three titles in this class. But he was also spotted on crutches after the Salt Lake City Supercross, apparently, he twisted himself up even though he finished the race in fourth. Can Jo be as good from the start of the season as he usually is at the end?
Now we’re getting into murky waters. The five riders above should be winning races, no doubt. Others? They have potential but we will have to see. Seth Hammaker and Cameron McAdoo are Pro Circuit teammates and have won in supercross but haven’t delivered the same results outdoors. A lot of that is because they’re often hurt. They’re both back racing from round one. Can they deliver on their potential? By the way, Max Vohland and Austin Forkner will not be back for the start of Pro Motocross.
There are always tons of dudes racing for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing. Deegan is an obvious title contender, who else on this team can go to the front? Jordon Smith hasn’t quite shown the same results outdoors as indoors, but he’s been healthy and strong for a while so maybe he will. Nate Thrasher doesn’t have many outdoor results, either, yet, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do it. Michael Mosiman was as fast as anyone—like anyone—just two years ago. Is it still there? There are also rookies on this team like Daxton Bennick and Nick Romano, well, actually Romano was a rookie in 2022, but it’s been a while. This is what makes the 250 class extra exciting. You don’t know who is going to hit.
Let’s throw in more names. Chance Hymas left last year’s rookie campaign with a torn ACL, but he had a moto podium at Thunder Valley right before that. Jalek Swoll (Triumph) has won before. Pierce Brown and Ryder DiFrancesco on Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas, and young guys like Julian Beaumer (Red Bull KTM) and Casey Cochran (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) are waiting for their moment, and the confidence that comes with it. Coty Shock was a revelation in supercross and has historically been better in motocross. Can he and the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha team deliver the goods? What about Shock’s teammate Jett Reynolds, who was once an all-time prospect in the sport? So many names out there.
The Wildcard
Here’s one more name to throw at you. Joey Savatgy’s path here is as unpredictable as it gets. He hasn’t raced the 250 class since 2018, but he has seven career overall wins and has led the standings at times. He knows how to win in motocross. He’s also on the new Triumph, which has looked good in both supercross and MXGP, but there’s just not a lot of data on it. Could Joey be back where he was, and winning races? Or is it too big of an adjustment? This is a very, very hard one to predict.
Kinda like the whole class. Buckle up.
